Monday, 23 May 2016

The plainclothes intelligences services agents in a private
car have abducted Mr. Baqer Gholami (AKA Naami) a 36-year-old father-of-two and
Ahwazi Sunni activist from his front door at about 5 pm on 6 March 2016 without
even allowing him to change out of his pyjamas or take his eyeglasses.

Forcibly Disappeared:

Name: Baqer Gholami (Al Naami)

Age: 36

Status: Married with two children

Location: Unknown since 6 March 2016

Crime: Sunni Muslim

Two hours later, at around 7pm another group of armed men
arrived at his home and confiscated his belongings including his computer, two
mobile phones, books, pamphlets and IDs. They did not produce search warrant
and declined to reveal his whereabouts.

Almost three months on, the revolutionary court and the
intelligence services including Setade Khabari have refused to acknowledge his
arrest or to reveal his fate.

He had previously been arrested and imprisoned several times
for his solely religious activists, including organizing private group prayers,
reading the Qoran and Islamic jurisprudence. He served at least 19 months in
prison:

Arrested on 17 Feb 2011, and was detained for one
month.He was again arrested on 26 July
2012 along with 19 other activist and was sentenced by Judge Syed Mohammed
Mousavi at Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Courts in Ahwaz to thirteen months in
prison. He was also arrested 17 December 2013 spent five months in prison.

Authorities in Iran forcibly disappeared and detained incommunicado
individuals. Mr. Gholami's family say he is at serious risk of torture and other
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

Enforced disappearances are defined under international law
as the arrest or detention of a person by state officials or their agents
followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty, or to reveal
the person’s fate or whereabouts. Enforced disappearances violate a range of
fundamental human rights protected under the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, to whichIran is a
party, including prohibitions against arbitrary arrest and detention; torture
and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and extrajudicial execution.

Iran has in recent years intensified its crackdown on Sunni Ahwazis by accusing and charging them, inter alia, with spreading propaganda
against the system by promoting Wahhabism, questioning the official religion of
the country, producing and distributing deviant books...